There are many aspects of creating a clean or smooth silhouette. One may begin with the selection of a garment exhibiting a flattering shape and fit. Further, fabric selection and how the fabrics move relative to the skin or undergarments worn underneath the garment affect the resulting silhouette. In addition, what is worn underneath the garment may also have an effect, particularly if the garment is close fitting.
An entire shapewear industry has grown to help improve the appearance of garments by reducing unsightly lumps and bumps. Some undergarments are developed to reduce their appearance under the garment. Panties and brassieres may be provided with fewer seams so as to reduce bumps in the skin due to the seams displacing body tissue. A lack of seams also helps to make the transition from the undergarment fabric to the skin less detectable. These undergarments are often referred to as “vanishing”, “no-show”, or “seamless”.
The fabrics used to form these garments tend to exhibit relatively high elasticity and may stretch to 40% or more of the original length and up to 100% to 200% of the original length when measured via tensile testing (according to the procedure further described herein). While this makes the fabric more forgiving and able to move with the body, it does not perform well in reducing natural skin bulges under the garment. Therefore, room remains for improvement in the field of providing undergarments, and particularly brassieres, that minimize seems and reduce unsightly bulging.